²⁵ But I thought it necessary to send to you ^(A)Epaphroditus, my brother and ^(B)fellow worker and ^(C)fellow soldier, who is also your ^[a](D)messenger and ^(E)minister to my need, ²⁶ because he was longing ^[b]for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. ²⁷ For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸ Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly, so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. ^29 (F)Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and ^(G)hold people like him in high regard, ³⁰ because he came close to death ^[c](H)for the work of Christ, risking his life to ^(I)compensate ^[d]for your absence in your service to me.

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

36 In the ^(A)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ² “Take a ^[a](B)scroll and write on it all the ^(C)words which I have spoken to you concerning ^(D)Israel, Judah, and all the ^(E)nations, from the ^(F)day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. ^3 (G)Perhaps the house of Judah will listen to all the disaster which I plan to carry out against them, so that every person will ^(H)turn from his evil way; then I will ^(I)forgive their wrongdoing and their sin.”

⁴ Then Jeremiah called ^(J)Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a ^[b](K)scroll ^[c]at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which He had spoken to him. ⁵ Jeremiah then commanded Baruch, saying, “I am ^[d](L)restricted; I cannot go into the house of the Lord. ⁶ So you go and ^(M)read from the scroll, which you have ^(N)written ^[e]at my dictation, the words of the Lord ^[f]to the people at the Lord’s house on a day of ^(O)fasting. And you shall also read them ^[g]to all the people of Judah who come from their cities. ^7 (P)Perhaps their pleading will ^[h]come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way; for ^(Q)great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” ⁸ So Baruch the son of Neriah acted in accordance with all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, ^(R)reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

⁹ Now in the ^(S)fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ^(T)ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who ^(U)came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a ^(V)fast before the Lord. ¹⁰ Then Baruch read to all the people from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord in the ^(W)chamber of ^(X)Gemariah the son of Shaphan the ^(Y)scribe, in the upper courtyard, at the ^(Z)entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.

¹¹ Now when ^(AA)Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book, ¹² he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—^(AB)Elishama the scribe, ^(AC)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, ^(AD)Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. ¹³ And Micaiah ^(AE)declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people. ¹⁴ Then all the officials sent ^(AF)Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, who was the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah ^(AG)took the scroll in his hand and came to them. ¹⁵ And they said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch ^(AH)read it to them. ¹⁶ When they had heard all the words, they turned in ^(AI)fear one to another. And they said to Baruch, “We will certainly ^(AJ)report all these words to the king.” ¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, ^(AK)how did you write all these words? Was it ^[i]at Jeremiah’s dictation?” ¹⁸ And Baruch said to them, “He ^(AL)dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book.” ¹⁹ Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, ^(AM)hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are.”

The Scroll Is Burned

²⁰ So they came to the ^(AN)king in the courtyard, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of ^(AO)Elishama the scribe; and they reported all the words to the king. ²¹ Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi ^(AP)read it to the king as well as to all the officials who were standing beside the king. ²² Now the king was sitting in the ^(AQ)winter house in the ^(AR)ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. ²³ And when Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and ^(AS)threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all of the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. ²⁴ Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words did ^(AT)not tremble in fear, nor did they ^(AU)tear their garments. ²⁵ Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah ^(AV)urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶ And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to ^(AW)seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the ^(AX)Lord hid them.